Archives: September 2010

Ok friends… here’s a tip. I didn’t make this tip up, but I’ve found it very useful and wanted to share.

For the past day I’ve felt myself starting to come down with a bit of a cold. Now I can’t be getting sick because that’s just not in the cards for me! Chad and I are traveling to California this coming Wednesday and I refuse to be sick for it.

Here’s what I’ve done to jump start my immune system – I ate a clove of garlic with honey. Yes I swallowed the whole thing without chewing it, just like I was taking a vitamin.

The remedy calls for 1 tablespoon of manuca honey, but I didn’t have that on hand so I just used raw honey instead and will buy the manuca later.

Take one garlic clove and cut it into bite-sized pieces, then mix it on a spoon with the honey and swallow it down on an empty stomach.

I know many of you will think this is strange and read right over this post, but for those of you who are intrigued, it REALLY works!

I took it about half hour ago and already my throat feels better… There’s really something to this thing.

Garlic is antifungal, antiviral and anti-parasitic and will basically kill anything bad that stands in its way.

Would you rather get sick, or try this remedy to help make you all better?! I know what the answer was for me.

I finally decided that I couldn’t take the smell of pizza while walking down these New York City streets – so I decided to do something about it! Amy’s pizza wasn’t cutting it anymore so I decided to take action! We had a pizza party and made our own pizza. This really was NOT hard at all – it just takes some really yummy toppings to make it all worth it. My mouth is watering as I type because I wish I could have it again – I just had it yesterday though and that really wouldn’t be healthy to have it two days in a row!

I used the crust recipe from The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook author Elana Amsterdam from Elanas Pantry.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use a large baking sheet and prepare 2 pieces of parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the grapeseed oil and egg. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combine.

Place the dough between the 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll into a 10-inch circle, 1/8 inch thick. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and transfer the bottom piece of parchment paper with the rolled out dough onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and add toppings while still warm.

Toppings:

Heat oil in a small skillet and sauté the onions. When the onions are clear add the mushrooms and sauté together. Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces and chop the basil.
When the crust comes out of the oven, pour on the tomato sauce, enough to cover the whole top. Then add the mushroom and onion mixture, tomatoes and basil. The last topping should be the vegan cheese, which will get sprinkled on the top – use enough to satisfy yourself.

This is simply delicious – enjoy it!

P.S. the picture below is only half of the whole pizza – it’s quite filling.

Preparing crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place flour, salt, syrup and oil in food processor and pulse to combine. Pour mixture into 9-inch oiled tart pan. Press down to form crust. Pierce several times with fork and bake 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside on wire rack to cool.

Assembling tart:
Fill tart with berries. In medium pot over medium-high heat, combine apple juice, syrup and agar. Whisk continuously until agar dissolves. Slowly sprinkle in arrowroot and continue whisking until mixture thickens and no clumps remain. Add vanilla, remove from heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Spoon evenly over tart and refrigerate 1 hour or until set.

This was really delicious and everyone really enjoyed it!
The pictures are below but in my rush to finish and transfer the tart to upstate New York I forgot to take a picture of the final product!! Sorry.

There have been times recently where I’ve been a bit too stressed out for my own good and I haven’t really known what to do about it. Figuring out my direction with my business has been a huge struggle for me and as we know, stress does not go well with my belly (as well as yours.)

I’ve found that walking by the water, in my case the Hudson River, has been a huge help. For some reason every time I go over there I get this feeling of relief, I’m able to breathe and simply enjoy. I’ve also found that I enjoy riding my bike along the water to get in some exercise too.

How did I not know about this before?

If you find yourself stressed for whatever reason, I say you should take yourself out of the situation and find what makes you able to breathe again.

Is it walking along the Hudson? Maybe you like to walk through the park.

My husband and I collide when it comes to the decision between water and park – he enjoys walking through the park, while I clearly love the water – it’s so much more calming (I think!) We compromise and do a little bit of both depending on the day.

Don’t let the start of a new season get you down. Just because summer is ending doesn’t mean fall has to be stressful – we as humans always seem to struggle with change but lets embrace it together. Talk a walk wherever your special place may be and I hope you enjoy your day.

I’ve finally figured out how to set up a newsletter and post it to my blog!! WOOHOO

Check it out – I’ll be sending it out monthly and now it’s super easy to sign up right here. To the right of this post you’ll see a newsletter sign up – click it!

ALSO a new feature that I’ve added is to be notified each time I post something new – pretty cool huh? That’s also to the right of this post.

New and exciting things are happening. I’m working on a class series. The first one will be about superfoods. Maybe you’re wondering what in the world superfoods are… then this class would be perfect for you! You’ll learn the health benefits that they offer, how to add them to your diet and what they are of course.

Please let me know if you’re interested in this class. I may choose to post it as an mp3 so you can listen at home.

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I used to always “fake it” through yoga class. I was never taught the details of good form. Doing one on one sessions with Shira has been fantastic. I feel like I have the tools to go to any class and be able to self correct and avoid injuries. Shira is a gifted, intuitive teacher who clearly loves what she does. I have recommended her to all my friends.— Allison, NYC